Babesia: Dr. said joint pains is not a symptom????

This was a very disturbing conversation I just had with a doctor.

Since there is no known human strain regarding babesia in this country, only found mainly dogs, that I called a university hospital that I read on a medical journal report that examine someone who was first diagnosed with Babesia contraction by blood transfusion.


So I speak to the doctor, remember I am living abroad non-western country. This doctor tells me has experience with Babesia and Lyme while they were in the USA East Coast City.


So I was speaking to him over the telephone and not a physical appointment so he asks me what my symptoms are.

I told him I had joint pains, fatigue, fever, etc.

Then he goes "Oh Babesia is highly unlikely with your symptoms".


And I ask him what symptoms makes me unlikely for Babesia, and he goes "the joint pains, people with active babesia do not have joint pains".

Yet I told him my titer for the IgM/IgG portion says active infection state, he then goes" Oh that's not a reliable indicator". I then ask, Then why would my titer be that high with these symptoms? The doctor goes" Oh you were probably were infected a long time ago and its just still comes up in your anti-body test".


OK so I ask him what will prove to be positive for the active infection and he goes "a microscope test". I then go, I read that the microscope testing is only reliable within a 2 week period of initial infection. Yet the doctor kept repeating "joint pain is not a symptom of Babesia so you probably have something else..."






I am sorry yet I am reading on every weblink to babesiosis and it says "pain/ joint pain"!!!!



Is this doctor a quack or just a naive infectious disease doctor, yet where is he getting his information? and claim he has diagnosed Babesia patients?

He's at a famous university hospital yet oh well what can I say he doesn't know anything!


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I just did a few web search research on this doctor's name to see if anything shows up. This is the most "wrong" conversation I had, saying the Babesia has no symptom of joint pain!


Guess what I find his name being SELECTED and HONORED BY the IDSA , that infamous IDSA on here:

If you find your doctors name on that list too, be very careful.

http://www.idsociety.org/Content.aspx?id=11848

Post Edited (Nexis) : 4/2/2009 12:13:27 AM (GMT-6)

Nexis, Get another doctor- he sounds like he doesn't know what he is dealing with. I have never met an infectious disease doc that actually knew much about lyme and co-infection treatment. I had your symptoms and had babesia -tested positive.....which had to be treated for almost 2 years with mepron and zithromax. It was extremely difficult to treat for me and I hope it is gone for good. After 3 months of treatment I still had symptoms but tested negative from then on..even though symptoms were still with me. The longer you wait the worse it gets.Blessings

Nexis,

Hey there! I'm so sorry your doctor is not being cooperative. I know you have been through so much with all of this. In my opinion, you have the symptoms of Lyme Disease as well as babesia. Maybe go to the doctors office and and tell him how you feel. Tell him how you cannot function and ask
him if he can just try you on some antibiotics to see what happens. We have to push sometimes to get what we want. I've had to do it so many times. I had a doctor here pretty much laugh me out of his office when I asked him to be tested for Lyme. He told me there was no such thing here. I had to fight to get a referral to my LLMD now because he didn't want to refer me at first. This whole disease is a fight. It's sad to say that but that's just how it is for us right now. Maybe if he hears what you are going through, face to face, he might listen. The only other thing I can think of is trying to come to the states. I don't know how that is on you financially but it's worth a shot.

If you ever need to talk, you can email me anytime. I hope this doctor does something to help you and soon!!

Hi Nexis.  I have treated Babesiosis more than once, and I have never had a positive PCR.

Did you have the Western Blot done at IgeneX?  Many people who have Lyme do not test CDC positive which requires several bands to be present for it to be positive.  Did you have any bands present on your test?  Lyme doctors often look at which bands show, some are specific for Lyme.

There are some Lyme doctors in CA.  Some doctors will spread out appointments and do phone appointments in-between for patients who have to travel.  You can email me at [email protected]  for their names.  We do not post doctor names on the board.